Microsoft has announced a new Accessibility Assistant for Microsoft 365 office during its annual Microsoft Ability Summit, as reported by TheVerge.
How the New Accessibility Assistant Works
The latest accessibility assistant will instruct users on how to prevent and correct accessibility issues in real-time when creating content. Users will see a new person-shaped icon to flag the location of accessibility issues across your work.
Users can expect the new Accessibility Assistant will start rolling out in the coming weeks, which will replace the current Accessibility Checker.
So far, there is not a lot going on for the Accessibility Assistant as it has similar features to the Accessibility Checker. However, its features are similar to tools like Grammarly. That said, the new assistant may still be better than the previous accessibility assistant.
The aim is to make it easier and more convenient to identify and fix accessibility issues. The Accessibility Assistant has been designed to provide helpful options to stop accessibility issues from occurring in the first place, advice to help you make changes quickly when they do arise, and clear and simple information to support you as you go.
Microsoft is aiming to make content creation easier and more accessible with the introduction of Accessibility Assistant. Through the use of a new color picker in Microsoft 365 Apps, users will be given the tools to create beautiful designs while also being mindful of the need for adequate contrast between text and its background. This way, users can create content that both looks good and is accessible to all.
The new color picker has two different modes. The first one is similar to the old one but now includes a tooltip to help users choose colors with enough contrast. The second mode can be accessed by switching on the high contrast mode. This mode limits the available color choices to ones that meet the contrast requirements and provides an extra row of colors that match the theme and design of the project.
Accessibility Assistant will become the go-to tool for ensuring all Microsoft 365 App content is accessible to everyone, regardless of ability. It will take over the Accessibility Checker and offer a more comprehensive range of solutions, as well as automated support for additional accessibility issues. This will make it much easier for users to create content that is accessible to all.
Also Read: Microsoft 365 Basic: $2 for 100GB OneDrive, Outlook Web, But No Office Apps
More Updates
The company also announced new customizable 3D-printed attachments and grips for the Surface Pen later this year. With these, they will make things a lot easier for users with mobility issues to hold and control a pen stylus.
New support for 13 new African languages has also been added to Microsoft's Translate tool. The new support feature will allow users to communicate in both languages.
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